a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an IC card reader that permits transactions for an IC card having a non-contact type input/output terminal and an integrated circuit (IC chip), and further relates to an IC card reader that also permits transactions for an IC card having a contact type input/output terminal and an integrated circuit (IC chip).
b) Description of the Related Art
An IC card in which an IC chip is built-in has been utilized because of its capability to record/retrieve a large amount of information as compared to a magnetic card. The IC card generally uses a contact method wherein information is communicated by contacting contact wires provided on a card reader which records/reads information on/from the IC card with a contact type input/output terminal of the IC chip.
On the other hand, a non-contact type IC card is under research in which a non-contact type input/output terminal having metallic plates, coils, and the like is built. With respect to the non-contact type input/output terminal in the IC card, a signal transmission unit (hereafter denoted as "IC module") comprising metallic plates or coils is provided; the current containing information is supplied to the IC module, and a potential is generated, by electromagnetic induction or capacitance, between the non-contact type input/output terminal and the IC module; and the generated potential is converted for inserting and removing information. The non-contact type IC card includes, for example, a proximity IC card which has been developed in International Standard Organization (ISO) standard 10536.
When one drives a proximity IC card or a contact type IC card in a card driving path, it is necessary to consider countermeasures for deformed cards. In other words, if the distance in the thickness direction of the card driving path is small, a problem can occur in which the deformed card is stuck in the path or the driving resistance is increased. Also, the input/output of information to/from the proximity IC card is done by generating a potential by electromagnetic induction or capacitance between the non-contact type input/output terminal on the card and the signal transmission unit on the reader. Therefore, if the card driving path is wide or the deformation of a card is large, the distance between the non-contact input/output terminal on the card and the signal transmission unit on the reader becomes large, thus making it difficult for a magnetic field or charge to be transferred.
In addition, when the proximity IC card is processed, there is a problem needed to be solved with regard to the electromagnetic transducing efficiency between a coil portion (the non-contact input/output terminal) on the card (hereafter denoted as "the card side coil unit") and a coil portion provided on the IC module (the signal transmission unit) on the reader (hereafter denoted as "the reader side coil unit"). That is, since the thickness and size of an IC card is standardized, the winding number of the coil unit built in the card is also limited. When the IC module is fixed near the card driving path, the card side coil unit faces the reader side coil unit in the card driving path. The width of the card driving path is designed to be larger than the card thickness considering the curve of the card or the driving resistance with the card; therefore, it is difficult to narrow the distance between the card side coil unit and the reader side coil unit. When the card is curved, the distance between the card side coil unit and the reader side coil unit is not constant, and thus the electromagnetic transducer efficiency, that is, an electromotive force (emf) generated in the coil portion on the card cannot be increased.
Further, different information record/readout (communication) methods are used in a commercialized contact type IC card and in the proximity IC card under research. Therefore, if one tries to arrange a card reader (information record/readout system) for each type of card, problems occur such that the cost for the card reader increases and the space has to be large.